Civic dignitaries

About the Chairman of the CouncilThe Council elects its Chairman and Vice Chairman annually. Currently the Chairman is Christine Lawrence and the Vice Chairman is Graham Noel.

The role of the Chairman, and in their absence, the Vice-Chairman, is:

to uphold and promote the purposes of the Constitution, and to interpret the Constitution when necessary;

to preside over meetings of the Council so that its business can be carried out efficiently and with regard to the rights of councillors and the interests of the community;

to ensure that the Council meeting is a forum for the debate of matters of concern to the local community and the place at which members who are not on the Executive Board are able to hold the Board to account;

to promote public involvement in the Council's activities;

to be the conscience of the Council; and

to attend such civic and ceremonial functions as the Council and he/she determines appropriate.

For more information about the Chairman or Vice Chairman of the Council please contact:

The Lord-Lieutenant of SomersetHer Majesty's Lord-Lieutenant of a County is an Honorary Officer appointed by The Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister. He or she is the permanent representative of the Crown in that County and normally serves until retirement at between 70 and 75 years of age.

Somerset Lieutenancy covers the historic County of Somerset (that is the areas administered by Bath & North East Somerset, North Somerset, and Somerset County Councils). The total population of these areas at the last census was 908,700.

The Lord-Lieutenant is supported by a Vice Lord-Lieutenant and by Deputy Lieutenants, whom she appoints from people who have rendered particular service to the County in a variety of ways, the number depending on the size of population. There are normally between 30 and 40 Deputy Lieutenants.

The High Sheriff of SomersetThe Office of High Sheriff is at least 1,000 years old, having its roots in Saxon times, before the Norman conquest. It is the oldest continuous secular office under the Crown. Originally, the Office held many of the powers now vested in HM Lord-Lieutenants, High Court Judges, Magistrates, Local Authorities, Coroners and even the Inland Revenue. The Office of High Sheriff remained first in precedence in the counties until the reign of Edward VII, when an Order in Council in 1908 gave the Lord-Lieutenants the prime office under the Crown as the Sovereign's personal representative. Lord-Lieutenants were created in 1547 for military duties in the shires. The High Sheriff remains the Sovereign's representative in the County for all matters relating to the Judiciary and the maintenance of law and order.

Functions of the OfficeHigh Sheriffs are responsible in the counties of England and Wales for duties conferred by the Crown through Warrant from the Privy Council, including:

Attendance at Royal visits to the county;

The well-being and protection of Her Majesty's High Court Judges when on Circuit in the county and attending them in court during legal terms;

Acting as the Returning Officer for Parliamentary Elections in county constituencies;

Responsibilities for the proclamation of the accession of a new Sovereign;

The maintenance of the loyalty of subjects to the Crown;

In Somerset, the leading role in Somerset Crimebeat.

Nominations for High SheriffNominations to the office of High Sheriff are dealt with through the presiding Judge of the Circuit and the Privy Council, for consideration by the Sovereign in Council. The annual nominations of 3 prospective High Sheriffs for each county are made in a meeting of the Lords of the Council in the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice, presided over by the Lord Chief Justice on 12 November each year.

Subsequently the selection of new High Sheriffs is made annually in a meeting of the Privy Council by the Sovereign, when the custom of 'pricking' the appointee's name with a bodkin is perpetuated.

The Sheriff's YearThe High Sheriff takes up appointment upon making a sworn declaration in terms dictated by the Sheriff's Act 1887. The appointment is for one year only, except in the event of something untoward happening to the High Sheriff's expected successor, in which case a High Sheriff must remain in office until the appointment of a successor is executed.

High Sheriffs are now encouraged by the Shrievalty Association of England and Wales to undertake duties to improve and sustain the morale of personnel of voluntary and statutory bodies engaged in the maintenance and extension of law and order and the entire criminal system. It is an independent, non-political office which enables the holder to bring together a wide variety of individuals and office holders for the good of the community a High Sheriff serves. In recent years, High Sheriffs in many parts of England and Wales have been particularly active in the field of reduction of crime and the development of an anti-crime culture, particularly among young people. Thus Somerset Crimebeat.

The High Sheriff receives no remuneration or expenses.

In Wells CathedralThe new High Sheriff is formally sworn-in towards the end of March each year. The new High Sheriff is presented in the Cathedral at the Legal Service, giving the opportunity for a prayer of thanksgiving for the past year and a welcome for the year to come.